Broncos U19’s end winning run

The London Broncos U19 side couldn’t extend their winning run on a frustrating afternoon against Wakefield Trinity, going down 18-34 at Trailfinders.

The opening exchanges were even – Jack Croft’s early try for Trinity was cancelled out by Alife Edwards, who collected a cross-field kick from Oliver Leyland and then brushed off the last man to go over.

However, from there the visitors’ pace was difficult to control and it proved to be a difficult first half-hour. Trinity kicked on with three unanswered tries through Barcoe, Devittoris and Darbyshire, and it could have gotten even worse if it wasn’t for a fourth on the bounce being pulled back for a forward pass.

The Broncos took advantage of that reprieve to keep themselves within touching distance before the break. After the disappointing period, the home side were able to work themselves back into the game, slowing down the Trinity attack and enjoying decent field position. That was eventually rewarded when Teddy Davidson was able to complete a nice move to touch down in the corner and put the game at 8-18 at half-time.

That improvement continued when the second half got underway too. Davidson followed up his try with an assist, getting on the end of high ball from Leyland before he was able to send Max Clarke over for the try.

Things soon looked even more promising for the Broncos. From the kick-off, a well-worked team move saw the Broncos break the line before Ramon Silva was able to touch down and Rob Oakley’s conversion put the teams on parity.

Unfortunately, that pressure couldn’t continue. Wakefield soon took the lead with Darbyshire, to extend the lead to six. That left a scoreless period where both sides struggled to properly push on, and the Broncos searched for a chance to level. And while the Broncos were able to earn repeat sets in dangerous territory, it was often lacking the final play.

Eventually, all that effort came to nothing, and once momentum swung back towards Wakefield, the game was put beyond doubt with two tries in the final ten. Owen Hughes and Croft went over for Trinity and brought an abrupt end to the Broncos’ winning run.